Comms Check

Sunday, July 19, 2015

From the
onset of the class, I was expecting a repeat of Principles of Digital Marketing
from my time in the undergrad business program. Maybe a little bit of Digital
Literacy sprinkled in for continuity’s sake. To my relief, I was wrong. The
in-class simulations have been the main earner of the class for me. I have been
able to take advantage of the subject matter from each phase of the
simulations. From there, I further enhanced my sales approach to multiple
coporate systems at once.

I also
found value in the lynda.com suggestions from the GoTo Sessions. The video on marketing
and monetizaton on Youtube brought up a number of points that apply to much
more than just the digital platform. For instance, during the video, Anson
Alexander discussed the importance of authenticity among content creators
(Alexander,2014). This isn’t just in reference to what they post, but also who
they affiliate themselves with via sponsorships or affiliated marketing
agreements. Taking into account the psychological makeup of the current generation,
Anson is absolutely right. Millenials are a “show me” generation, primarily.
The immergent consumer is more inclined to buy a product that will benefit them
in more ways than one. However, the primary focus for this group remains: “Prove
to me what you’re saying is real.”

On the
other side of that sentiment, popular Youtube personalities are commonly
associated with brands by the public, at mere mention of a brand or service
mark in their videos. This could be attributed to a number of factors, all of
which are host to the accountability of the people.

·Co-branding “alliances” between companies and
content creators may not be publicized in every case, leading to confusion of
the public as to the connection between company and personality.

·Content creators, most of whom maintain some
level of celebrity, are still private citizens and are under no obligation (civil
or contracted) to divulge personal information at the request of the public.

·The possibility of misinterpretation on the part
of the public is everpresent. The drop of a brand name or product in a video is
commonly taken out of context by consumers and viewers.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Anyone who aspires to conduct business in a
professional setting will eventually learn the importance of having the right
resources available for a job. Seasoned recording artists may enlist the
services of a certain producer based on the message he sends in his work, or on
the consumer base he has access to. Event coordinators may align with different
promoters and venue managers based on a number of factors congruent with
executing a live event. Regardless of the context, having the right tool for
the job is often times the difference between a project ending in resounding
success or a slow-motion train wreck.

Producing
and coordinating live events, I’ve worked with a number of marketing
professionals shopping and licensing content. I’ve always suspected that the
reason we’re able to function so seamlessly together is simply: both of our
industries are inextricably dependent on each other. Simply examining the
mechanics of each industry lends legitimacy to this assertion.

“Live events” in the applicable context, refers to any and all public or
restricted-access events and/or ploys that stand to yield economic, demographic
or psychographic information beneficial to the event’s producer(s). Think of
this as a science. Live events are the experiments that yield data. At the
conclusion of any concert or branded party, analytics are done with respect to
accounting, safety, allocation of assets and customer service. These reports
(data) are usually sent to upper mid-level management personnel for a decision
as to how the information will be re-implemented into the standard operating
procedure. Among those privy to this information are representatives from the
Marketing Department.

Marketing
is the intelligence community of business. A sound marketing department ideally
takes in more information than it puts out in reference to their respective
consumer base. The analytical data extracted from live events commonly becomes
the basis for new product lines, albums, films, music videos, festivals, etc.
It is essentially the distinguishing mark of a company that pays attention to
the customer and gives them what they ask for.

Still
need evidence that marketing and live events are tied together? Two words:
TRADE SHOW. (drops mic)

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Since the
launch of iTunes in 2003, there have been a number of boding occurrences
throughout the entertainment industry, suggesting a massive swing in
operational momentum. We’re far removed from the days in which artists had to
format their content based on what would sell best. With the inception of
social media aggregators and video streaming sites, companies are adapting
their strategies, employed to connect with primary and tertiary demographics of
consumers. This particular pattern of innovation has recently branched into the
world of live events, namely concerts. With live streaming aggregator start-ups
like EvntLive, Stage It and WeLiveLive, the focus for many artists and their
teams is to utilize alternate media outlets to shop their content to prospective
fans.

In an
interview published by Billboard.com,
co-founders of EvntLive, David Carrico and Judy Estrin, spoke on the
inevitability of concert streaming becoming the next captivating concept that
stretches the boundaries of entertainment. Estrin made the point that, with the
myriad of technological advances associated with data transfer (industrial and
consumer statistics considered), streaming is a cost-efficient and
aesthetically beneficial avenue to pursue in expanding the demographic one’s content
is exposed to (Peoples, 2013). Independent live streaming aggregators like
Stage It are a byproduct of this knowledge.

The
crossover between live events and live streaming is also very heavily
enthralled in its beta period around the market. In April of 2014, Yahoo and
Live Nation Entertainment announced a joint venture in which Yahoo would stream
365 of Live Nation’s concerts over the proceeding year (Hampp, 2014). Billboard
got a comment from Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino informing the rhetoric behind
the move. He explained that the production costs associated with filming a
concert have gone down since the glory days of HBO concert series. With this,
the monetary benefits of a pay-per-view format will more than compensate for
any losses incurred during rebranding.

Friday, May 8, 2015

The practice of protecting the
company from legal recourse over unknown occurrences is an essential activity
associated with running a business in the entertainment industry. As the demand
for services associated with the live events sector continue to rise, so does the
laundry list of liability concerns that event coordinators, producers and staff
must consider prior to show time. Based on the growing trend of separate
sectors (music, film, video games, etc.) incorporating live events to drive
traffic and raise brand awareness, the event coordination business has seen a
number of instances in which shows have been cancelled due to issues with
intellectual property rights.

In
February of this year, The Hollywood
Reporter published an article updating the status of proceedings between
recording artist and entrepreneur Jay-Z, and the estate of Egyptian film
composer Osama Ahmed Fahmy. The specification addressed was Jay-Z’s use of a
sample from the song “Khosara, Khosara” from the 1960 film Fata Ahlami (Gardner, 2015). In a lawsuit that has been active for
the last 8 years, Live Nation is now being pulled into the scrum by Fahmy’s
estate, which claims the concert giant knowingly promoted and profited from
Jay-Z’s performance of material that violated copyright. Situations like this
affirm the importance of indemnification clauses in contracts between concert
touring companies and artists.

Liability
manifests itself in many forms during a live event. None have been more
prevalent than personal injury lawsuits filed by patrons. The Buffalo News recently reported on an incident that culminated
in the filing of a $150 million lawsuit against Live Nation (Fairbanks, 2014). According
to the article, concert patron Jason McNeil was attending a Kid Rock concert
when an inebriated fan randomly punched him in the head. This lead to McNeil’s
lawyer pressing for the $150 million judgment, claiming his client “can never
work again.” In situations like this, there are a number of factors that can
discredit the arguments of either side. McNeil’s medical history needs to be
taken into consideration, to judge the validity of his lawyer’s claim. If he is
indeed found to be incapacitated to the point that he cannot gain employment,
then he should be compensated for such. However, if that isn’t the case, then
the remedy must be revisited to ensure that one side isn’t victimizing the
other with a frivolous and baseless lawsuit.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Being a
event coordinator by trade, you lose some basic appreciation for things that
the general populace notice in terms of the experience of attending a live
event. Or is it the other way around? Since asking myself that question, I’ve
attended a number of nightlife events in and around Orlando, to the furthest
reaches of genre. Each showed the character of the people responsible for their
production. From the customer service implementations to compliance with city
fire code (YEAH, THAT’S A THING), every aspect of a live event’s structure and
discipline mirror that of its coordinator(s).

I recently
had occasion to visit the Timucua White House with my wife, to see Jeff Rupert,
Richard Drexler and Marty Morell. After initially assessing the situation once
inside the venue, I noticed that there was a light control system in place.
This is a standard indicator of a composite venue, or a venue that can
accommodate more than one type of performance. The sound system was well
maintained, judging by the quality of the acoustics. The background for the
band was appropriate for the show, however it may prove difficult to adapt for
a different type of event, should that situation arise.

I also
attended The Scene at Venue 578, which was comprised of a vast range of hip-hop
acts from around Orlando. Given that it was a showcase, the vibe was perfectly
on par. There were large areas in the main hall and on the patio set up for
merchandise sales. There were drink specials for the majority of the event,
much to the delight of the patrons. The staffs, from the bartenders, to the
floor attendants, to the production team were in sync. This further enhanced
the experiences, as there were a number of events going on throughout the
venue. Cyphers in the upstairs section led to acoustic sets and live poetry in
what was referred to as “The Chamber”, just below the overlook of the main
stage. One who has never been exposed to hip-hop culture would’ve gained a true
sense of the genre, as an art form and means of communication between an artist
and their crowd.

In
Timucua’s case, my assessment is conditional to an extent. If their primary
track for content is the traditional Nuveau Jazz setting and ambience, then
they are doing an excellent job. However, if they are looking to expand the
repertoire of their accommodations for event producers, I would suggest they
revisit whether or not that particular backdrop is an integral part of the
stage. To The Scene, I would offer simply: fill the negative space with
incentives. I made numerous rounds to the merchandise tables and I didn’t see a
ton of activity. Perhaps working merchandise into the ticket price would be a
viable solution, if the only purpose of the merchandise were promotion. I’d
also reserve the more expensive and/or premium items for sale at retail inside
the venue.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

John Hunter’s TED Talk on the World
Peace Game is essentially a blueprint for the next evolutionary step in grade
school education. The concept of the game is simple, for it is how the world
works. However, Mr. Hunter has designed the curriculum in such a way, that the
children he teaches essentially teach themselves how to arrive at diplomatic
and mutually beneficial decisions for everyone.

I noticed a few things during this
talk. First, I realized that the point of view through which a majority of the
decision-makers in the world see is unnecessarily complex. John Hunter is a
grade school teacher in Virginia and he has essentially turned his classroom
(OF 4TH GRADERS) into a project incubator for how to fix the world!
If we as adults can claim to have higher brain function than a 4th
grader, what’s the explanation for group of nine-year-olds being able to
formulate a solution to global warming in a week?

It was as I asked that question
that the answer was revealed. 4th graders possess the closest thing
to an unmolested mind attainable. They haven’t been exposed to the corruption
of politics, racially motivated agendas or socio-economics. They just don’t
care. All they care about is coming up with a solution that will make them and
their friends happy.

This TED Talk also spurred me to
reconsider the definition of maturity. As we grow up, we’re taught as children
that as we get older, we are to mature mentally and emotionally just as we do
physically. However, for as many examples of mature, upstanding, respectable
members of society that have been heralded throughout history, there are twice
as many people who have shown a sickening lack of maturity that has led to the
disparagement, disenfranchisement, and/or death of billions of people around
the world.

I believe that one of the biggest
pieces of the puzzle as pertains to the state of affairs in the world, is to
really investigate the impact that social norms have on how we live. If we
threw as much money behind think tanks that probe at this kind of information,
as we did at bogus medical trials and unnecessary construction, I think
citizens would become more savvy as to the games being played during election
campaigns. This would also take power away from media outlets that would seek
to use fear mongering to further political agendas.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

It has been decided that the candidate site to be submitted for
the 2024 Olympic Games will be Boston, MA, according to reports published by
the Boston Globe this Thursday (Arsenault, 2015). This decision raises a number
of concerns among the international audience, chief among them being security.
With the horrific scenes and aftermath associated with the Boston Marathon
Bombing of April, 2013 still fresh in the minds of many American citizens,
local authorities and federal law enforcement will have a fairly large bill to
fill in terms of assuring the safe and orderly execution of the event.

For an
event coordinator, security is at the nexus of the planning process for any
event. Though, few situations offer a more daunting task than policing an event
with the exposure and moving parts present in the granddaddy of all
international sporting events. Other prospect submissions for the 2024 Olympic games
include Rome, Paris, Hamburg/Berlin, Budapest and Istanbul. All of the
submitted locations have their high and low points in terms of how well they
are already outfitted to handle the task of public safety, but the biggest
breath-holding situation of the entire ordeal will no doubt be how well nations
will work in unison with the host country, to ensure those who would look to
disrupt proceedings are not successful.

Additionally,
a recent surge of opposition groups have spoken out against Boston possibly
being the site for the 2024 Games, stating that the event will pose a
significant threat to the state’s progress in fixing prominent issues such as
the economy, housing market and education system. If the economic state of
Brazil during and after the 2014 FIFA World Cup is indicative of a pattern,
these opposition groups may have a point. To this end, Governor Charlie Baker
and other collaborators from local, state, and the federal government would do
well to take these very pertinent concerns to heart in the years ahead, as they
continue to make preparations for 2024. After all, “a house divided against
itself cannot stand.”